Can I Apply for Multiple Mortgages?

Making multiple applications in a single 14-day period won't harm credit.

A mortgage loan is one of the largest financial obligations an average person will ever take on. Because your mortgage loan might be with you for years or even decades, it only makes sense to shop for the best one. However, many homeowners become worried that shopping for or applying for multiple mortgages will damage their credit and any approval chances. Fortunately, you can apply for multiple mortgages and your approval chances for the one you want won't be harmed.

Multiple Mortgage Applications

In the past, submitting multiple mortgage applications created credit inquiries that damaged hopeful borrowers' credit scores and jeopardized mortgage approvals. However, credit reporting bureaus treat mortgage application inquiries differently than they treat inquiries for credit cards or similar loans. After all, multiple mortgage loan applications typically result only in a single mortgage loan, whereas applications for charge cards might result in many such cards. In truth, credit reporting bureaus permit mortgage "rate shopping" by homebuyers at no serious cost to credit scores.

Mortgage Rate Shopping

You're rate shopping when you try to find the lowest interest rate on a mortgage loan for which you can qualify and you submit many mortgage applications doing it. Mortgage rate shopping might seem as if it would harm credit scores but it doesn't. According to Dan Green, mortgage expert at "The Mortgage Reports" website, all mortgage applications in a 14-day window count as a single credit inquiry. The "MyFICO" website also says that many mortgage applications in a 14-day period won't harm credit.

Mortgage Rate Websites

Many mortgage rate websites on the Internet specialize in delivering multiple rate quotes. Using a rate website, you can shop for mortgage loans and rates from one lender or from many. Generally, most mortgage interest rate websites ask you to rate your own credit and won't ask for a Social Security number upfront. Eventually, though, to obtain a formal mortgage loan interest rate quote you'll need to supply a lender with your Social Security number and other particulars.

Obtaining Multiple Mortgages

There's a difference between obtaining multiple mortgages for just one property and seeking mortgages for multiple properties. Normally, the average homebuyer can qualify for multiple mortgages such as "80-20" loan products to purchase single properties. An 80-20 loan is simply one mortgage for 80 percent of a home's value and another mortgage for the remaining 20 percent of a home's value. Obtaining two different mortgages to purchase two different properties simultaneously usually requires good credit, income and other attributes.

About the Author

Tony Guerra served more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy. He also spent seven years as an airline operations manager. Guerra is a former realtor, real-estate salesperson, associate broker and real-estate education instructor. He holds a master's degree in management and a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.